Drive Offense Stagnates, Blown Out By Magic

The Grand Rapids Drive played their worst game of the season in a 109-94 loss to the Lakeland Magic (affiliates of the Orlando Magic) to snap their 3 game winning streak. While they managed to make it a little bit more respectable in the 4th quarter, the game was well out of distance for most of the second half.

The Drive were led by Scottie Lindsey who scored 24 points, with two-way players Zach Lofton and Keenan Evans scoring 16 and 15 apiece. Zach Lofton was back in the lineup for the first time in a week or so after being in the concussion protocol. Head coach Ryan Krueger said that Lofton was not on a minutes restriction but came off the bench and only played 26 minutes purely because he hadn’t been playing or practicing so they wanted to ease him back in a bit.

The game turned when Drive point guard Speedy Smith left the game in the 1st quarter with an apparent groin injury, followed shortly after by Jon Horford with a shoulder injury. Both players said after the game that they were feeling ok but they will be re-evaluated today.

Without Smith to initiate the offense, the Drive were stagnant and struggled to create good looks and move the ball. Jovan Mooring took many of the point-guard minutes the rest of the game, and while he has looked like a good spark-plug in limited minutes, he struggled in a larger role.

If Speedy Smith misses any extra time, it will be imperative that the Drive figure out how to cope with the loss of Smith. Clearly, his playmaking and passing is integral to their spread drive and kick attack.

The Drive will be back in action on Friday at the DeltaPlex against the same Lakeland Magic.